azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Darren Urban, Tribune
DETROIT - Sometime during his career as both quarterback and whipping boy at the University of Michigan, John Navarre sat at a restaurant with some friends. Over at a nearby table, another patron began to talk about the Wolverines — and how bad he thought Navarre was. Navarre and his friends heard it all.
The criticism wasn’t unexpected. Navarre started three full seasons in Ann Arbor and part of a fourth, and every single year was dotted with suggestions Michigan could do better behind center.
Navarre is in the NFL now, smack in the middle of the Arizona Cardinals’ burgeoning quarterback controversy. A rookie and lowly seventh-round draft pick, Navarre was picked by coach Dennis Green to be his third starter in four games.
As if that wasn’t enough pressure, the game is against the Detroit Lions, about 42 miles from where he played in college.
Yet, while Navarre has only one week of non-scout team practice as experience, he may be more prepared than any rookie quarterback could be.
This may be the NFL, but the Cardinals’ QB shuffle doesn’t compare to the spotlight of Michigan football and the difficulties he lived through.
"How many other restaurants in the city were they having the same conversation at a table?" Navarre said, referring to that long-ago night. "I don’t know what (fans) are going to say. I’m not going to be at every dinner table."
College may have been where Navarre received his degree and prepped for the NFL, but it was also where he learned he couldn’t be bothered by the doubters — because there would always be doubters.
"I am sure a lot of people are going to have questions about who I am and what I am capable of doing," Navarre said. "I am going to worry about my job and what I do.
"After that, what people want to say, they will say. It won’t change my work ethic or how I see myself."
THE BLAME GAME
The Michigan Daily, the university’s student newspaper, came out with an April Fools Day satire edition while Navarre was in school. One of the stories joked that Navarre was the cause of the United States’ war in Iraq.
"It was like, no matter what happens, he’ll get the blame," said former Michigan tackle Tony Pape, now on the practice squad of the Miami Dolphins. "Everything that ever went wrong with Michigan football was his fault."
Navarre played the highestprofile position at one of the highest-profile programs in the country.
"By far it’s the most criticized position at our place," said Michigan quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler, noting that some fans also found fault with Drew Henson and Tom Brady. The criticism of Navarre, however, always ran redhot. Maybe it was the way his career started, under lessthan-ideal circumstances. Henson was supposed to be the Wolverines’ quarterback in 2001, a senior who would help groom Navarre to start in 2002 as a redshirt junior.
Instead, Henson jumped at a multimillion-dollar offer to play pro baseball. Michigan fans weren’t happy, and were less happy when the Navarre-led Wolverines lost to an inferior Michigan State squad.
The Wolverines were also favored in their bitter rivalry game against Ohio State in Ann Arbor. Navarre threw four interceptions. Michigan fell behind 23-0 in a 26-20 loss.
If that wasn’t enough for his critics, Michigan was pummeled by Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl.
The next season, Navarre won his bowl game — the Outback, against Florida — but lost again to Ohio State and fell to Notre Dame.
"John did go through tough times, some deserved, some not," said former Michigan running back Chris Perry, now with the Cincinnati Bengals. "You are under pressure all the time there.
"At the time, not only was he not playing well, but the team wasn’t playing well. When you are the quarterback and you are winning, you get the accolades. There is some trade-off."
Navarre had morphed into a different person by the time he was a senior. He managed to block out off-field issues. It didn’t hurt that he beat both Notre Dame and Ohio State and won his first Big Ten championship.
"I don’t want to say people turned on me, but the criticism was going to come and it did come," Navarre said. "I had to learn how to deal with that and I had to learn how to focus on things I could control.
"Once I learned how to deal with that, things got a lot easier."
BACK HOME AGAIN
Now Navarre returns to Michigan for his first NFL game, something Navarre calls coincidence but something Green hinted might have played a factor in the choice to start Navarre today.
"I think it will be a good thing," Pape said. "It adds to the whole drama."
Navarre will leave the drama to others.
"People always ask if I am out to prove (critics) wrong," Navarre said. "People said I wouldn’t be considered a great quarterback at Michigan if I didn’t win that game (against Ohio State). I said, ‘Well, that might be the reality of it but I am confident in myself and this team and the coaches, and if that is the story you want to spin, spin it.’
"It’s the same thing now. This will be a business trip and I’m there for one reason, and that’s to win."
Green likes to talk about Michigan quarterbacks being undervalued. He said no one works harder in practice and in the film room than Navarre, something he learned in college from Brady and Henson.
"I think John’s got some special qualities," Green said. "The bar is very, very high at Michigan."
Green loves his huge arm. Navarre, who’s 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, lacks mobility, but he was known in college for being able to take a hit and not fumble.
The crowd watching him today knows exactly what Navarre can do.
"It’ll probably be a little bittersweet for fans," ex-Michigan receiver and Dolphins practice squad player Ron Bellamy said. "Everyone will be cheering for him. Fans will want the Lions to win but for John to do well."
The way Green is swapping quarterbacks, Navarre may only get one start. History does not shine kindly on rookie seventh-round quarterbacks making their first start on the road, especially playing in an offense that has been stumbling.
But Navarre seems unfazed by history. A reporter who covered Navarre at Michigan and who talked to him this week said Navarre already sounds much more confident than he would before big games in college.
"The hard road he had to endure," Loeffler said, "will help in the NFL."
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=32660
DETROIT - Sometime during his career as both quarterback and whipping boy at the University of Michigan, John Navarre sat at a restaurant with some friends. Over at a nearby table, another patron began to talk about the Wolverines — and how bad he thought Navarre was. Navarre and his friends heard it all.
The criticism wasn’t unexpected. Navarre started three full seasons in Ann Arbor and part of a fourth, and every single year was dotted with suggestions Michigan could do better behind center.
Navarre is in the NFL now, smack in the middle of the Arizona Cardinals’ burgeoning quarterback controversy. A rookie and lowly seventh-round draft pick, Navarre was picked by coach Dennis Green to be his third starter in four games.
As if that wasn’t enough pressure, the game is against the Detroit Lions, about 42 miles from where he played in college.
Yet, while Navarre has only one week of non-scout team practice as experience, he may be more prepared than any rookie quarterback could be.
This may be the NFL, but the Cardinals’ QB shuffle doesn’t compare to the spotlight of Michigan football and the difficulties he lived through.
"How many other restaurants in the city were they having the same conversation at a table?" Navarre said, referring to that long-ago night. "I don’t know what (fans) are going to say. I’m not going to be at every dinner table."
College may have been where Navarre received his degree and prepped for the NFL, but it was also where he learned he couldn’t be bothered by the doubters — because there would always be doubters.
"I am sure a lot of people are going to have questions about who I am and what I am capable of doing," Navarre said. "I am going to worry about my job and what I do.
"After that, what people want to say, they will say. It won’t change my work ethic or how I see myself."
THE BLAME GAME
The Michigan Daily, the university’s student newspaper, came out with an April Fools Day satire edition while Navarre was in school. One of the stories joked that Navarre was the cause of the United States’ war in Iraq.
"It was like, no matter what happens, he’ll get the blame," said former Michigan tackle Tony Pape, now on the practice squad of the Miami Dolphins. "Everything that ever went wrong with Michigan football was his fault."
Navarre played the highestprofile position at one of the highest-profile programs in the country.
"By far it’s the most criticized position at our place," said Michigan quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler, noting that some fans also found fault with Drew Henson and Tom Brady. The criticism of Navarre, however, always ran redhot. Maybe it was the way his career started, under lessthan-ideal circumstances. Henson was supposed to be the Wolverines’ quarterback in 2001, a senior who would help groom Navarre to start in 2002 as a redshirt junior.
Instead, Henson jumped at a multimillion-dollar offer to play pro baseball. Michigan fans weren’t happy, and were less happy when the Navarre-led Wolverines lost to an inferior Michigan State squad.
The Wolverines were also favored in their bitter rivalry game against Ohio State in Ann Arbor. Navarre threw four interceptions. Michigan fell behind 23-0 in a 26-20 loss.
If that wasn’t enough for his critics, Michigan was pummeled by Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl.
The next season, Navarre won his bowl game — the Outback, against Florida — but lost again to Ohio State and fell to Notre Dame.
"John did go through tough times, some deserved, some not," said former Michigan running back Chris Perry, now with the Cincinnati Bengals. "You are under pressure all the time there.
"At the time, not only was he not playing well, but the team wasn’t playing well. When you are the quarterback and you are winning, you get the accolades. There is some trade-off."
Navarre had morphed into a different person by the time he was a senior. He managed to block out off-field issues. It didn’t hurt that he beat both Notre Dame and Ohio State and won his first Big Ten championship.
"I don’t want to say people turned on me, but the criticism was going to come and it did come," Navarre said. "I had to learn how to deal with that and I had to learn how to focus on things I could control.
"Once I learned how to deal with that, things got a lot easier."
BACK HOME AGAIN
Now Navarre returns to Michigan for his first NFL game, something Navarre calls coincidence but something Green hinted might have played a factor in the choice to start Navarre today.
"I think it will be a good thing," Pape said. "It adds to the whole drama."
Navarre will leave the drama to others.
"People always ask if I am out to prove (critics) wrong," Navarre said. "People said I wouldn’t be considered a great quarterback at Michigan if I didn’t win that game (against Ohio State). I said, ‘Well, that might be the reality of it but I am confident in myself and this team and the coaches, and if that is the story you want to spin, spin it.’
"It’s the same thing now. This will be a business trip and I’m there for one reason, and that’s to win."
Green likes to talk about Michigan quarterbacks being undervalued. He said no one works harder in practice and in the film room than Navarre, something he learned in college from Brady and Henson.
"I think John’s got some special qualities," Green said. "The bar is very, very high at Michigan."
Green loves his huge arm. Navarre, who’s 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, lacks mobility, but he was known in college for being able to take a hit and not fumble.
The crowd watching him today knows exactly what Navarre can do.
"It’ll probably be a little bittersweet for fans," ex-Michigan receiver and Dolphins practice squad player Ron Bellamy said. "Everyone will be cheering for him. Fans will want the Lions to win but for John to do well."
The way Green is swapping quarterbacks, Navarre may only get one start. History does not shine kindly on rookie seventh-round quarterbacks making their first start on the road, especially playing in an offense that has been stumbling.
But Navarre seems unfazed by history. A reporter who covered Navarre at Michigan and who talked to him this week said Navarre already sounds much more confident than he would before big games in college.
"The hard road he had to endure," Loeffler said, "will help in the NFL."
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=32660
